Loopring Shuts DEX, Cites Low Adoption of zkRollup

Loopring announced on X on Sunday that it had shut its decentralized exchange and taken its relayer offline immediately after the post.

The team said the protocol “never gained measurable traction” and pointed to technical limits. Because it was an early zkRollup, the network lacked a general virtual machine, which prevented smart-contract composability and restricted real-world payment use cases. The post added that newer zkEVM implementations provide full compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts.

Loopring also cited weak business development and external pressures, including major exchange delistings of its native token, LRC, as factors in the decision to stop operating the DEX.

The company said it will return users' assets directly and cover all transaction costs rather than requiring users to generate and submit Merkle proofs, calling direct refunds the “fairest and most hassle-free” option. In the coming days the team will publish a full list of final Layer 2 balances, including spot holdings and automated market‑maker positions.

After a two‑week review period of that list, Loopring plans to upgrade the DEX smart contract so transfers out of Layer 2 can be executed only by team‑controlled, whitelisted addresses.

The relayer being offline prevents new trades on the DEX. The closure follows roughly a year in which Loopring wound down DeFi products such as Dual Investment and Portal and closed its wallet service. The company's CEO, Steve Guo, left in August 2025.

Users affected by the shutdown should monitor the published balance list and the two‑week review period to confirm entitlements and the timing of refunds. The announcement did not provide a detailed timetable for when whitelisted transfers would be enabled after the review period.

Loopring described its origins in a cypherpunk vision and said, “Rather than running a hollow service, we choose to end it gracefully.”